Republican Party

A scene from the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. Photo Credit: ©Voice of Russia, Carmen Russell-Sluchansky.

GOP making progress in outreach to African Americans, expert says

April 4, 2013 Carmen Russell Politics 00:17:06 0 Comments
As the GOP continues to rebuild its image in the wake of an election that saw constituents of color and different ethnic backgrounds vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party, Republicans have started several outreach programs to gain popularity among these groups.

Most notably the issue of immigration has forced the GOP to re-evaluate its position on the matter with many politicians paying attention to the prominence of Latinos in the U.S.

However, the GOP is also focusing on outreach to African Americans.

The most recent step in this goal includes the hiring of Raffi Williams by the Republican National Committee to serve as the group’s deputy press secretary. Williams is the 24-year-old son of commentator Juan Williams.

The hiring is seen by some as a step in the right direction and now puts GOP chair Reince Priebus in the lead against President Barack Obama in terms of African American hires since his re-election.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with conservative political commentator Raynard Jackson to discuss the forward progress of the Republican Party in terms of its outreach to African Americans.

 

Experts: CPAC needs to focus on compassion, not numbers

March 18, 2013 Carmen Russell Culture, Podcast 0 Comments
This year’s CPAC focuses on changing the Republican message to reach out to women and African Americans.

Voice of Russia’s Jamila Bey and Carmen Russell-Sluchansky talk about their impressions of this year’s CPAC:

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In the edition, Russell-Sluchansky and Bey critique Republican outreach, which gives the impression that it’s driven by a need for higher voting numbers rather than actually caring about people.

Bey says that the Republican party wants to be “more inclusive”, with a message of “tolerance”. However, she, like many other black women, “does not want to be tolerated” in the face of support for things such as Stop and Frisk and decreased access to medical care.

 

President Obama shaking hands with House Speaker John Boehner in front of Congress. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo, Pete Souza.

GOP Analyst: Republicans Suffering From Likeability Issues, Ignorance

February 21, 2013 Carmen Russell Politics 00:16:02 0 Comments

The nation’s capital is as polarized as ever and politicians have done nothing but blame one another for the problems, refusing to compromise. Still, some predict there is a promising future, but it’s going to require all of both parties and some hard truths to be acknowledged by the GOP.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Tim Young, a GOP analyst and managing editor of AbsoluteRights.com, to discuss the GOP’s refusal to participate in the give-and-take required to see political progress in D.C.